Frankie and Benny’s owner The Restaurant Group reports drop in sales

The Restaurant Group, owner of American chain Frankie and Benny’s, has reported a number of losses in its half year financial results.

Its EBITDA suffered a decline of 14%, down to £38.1m from last year’s £44.3m. Its like-for-like sales fell by 3.7% for the 26-week period, while total revenue fell to £326.1m from £333.1m.

Its performance report showed a significant decline in sales during the cold snap in the beginning of the year, namely the ‘Beast from the East’ which kept customers away from restaurants. The group’s restaurants also suffered during the World Cup, when customers were opting for pubs instead.

The group saw like-for-like sales increase by 2.4% in the six weeks up to 26 August, after the sporting event.

The firm said it expected to report an adjusted pre-tax profit for the full year that is “broadly in line with current market expectations”.

CEO Andy McCue said: “Over the past six months we have delivered against our strategy, creating a more competitive and balanced business, more closely aligned to the growth segments of our market. The turnaround of our leisure division continues to plan and shows further progress.”